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Whatever Happened To Customer Service?


Do you remember the last time you went into a shop and the person 'serving' raced over to you, greeted you with a lovely smile, heaps of enthusiasm and said, "Welcome to our store, what can I help you with today?" And then listened attentively to what you had to say?

Doesn't happen very often does it? In fact, while I was writing this, I couldn't recall when I had experienced it. I'm sure I must have yet it would have been so long ago, I can't remember.

Let me tell you what happened this week?

I belong to a well-known trade exchange which I have found very useful for my business. I wanted to purchase a suitcase from a particular store which usually takes trade dollars. From time-time the store will limit the use of trade dollars if they have reached their maximum for the month. Anyhow I quickly discovered this wasn't going to be my lucky day.

I walked in and the assistant who was sitting down behind the counter (and remained there), didn't smile. She barely acknowledged me with what looked like a scowl. I had interrupted her reading time. (She was so busy, there was no-one in the store). I then politely (yes I can be polite sometimes) asked her if they were accepting trade dollars as I wanted to purchase a suitcase. She turned around to the owner who was sitting behind her doing some bookwork and repeated my question. The owner stayed seated, didn't look up and told her assistant "No".

The assistant then relayed to me that "we are not accepting trade dollars at the moment, but we have good deals for cash".

She remained seated all that time. I didn't answer and walked straight out the front door with my cash sitting in my purse.

No matter how good their "cash" deals were going to be, if I was going to spend my hard-earned money anywhere, it definitely would not be with them!

The 'Colour- blind to service' Copy Centre

I had spent thousands of dollars with a printing company over a couple of years. A couple of times I was told by one of the staff, when they've been snowed under "Mary's too busy to speak with you at the moment, I'll have to get her to call you back when she's got more time". Needless to say I didn't remain with them.

The 'Can't do that' Café

We went to a local café which we hadn't been to for a while and I was told by the waiter that "no, we can't do that". I wanted a particular type of sandwich which wasn't on the set menu. I informed the abrasive young waiter that "yes, you can". That got him scared and the order I wanted turned up within 5 minutes.

Are Customers Important to Business?

Of course they are. No customers, no business. Yet why are businesses deliberately driving customers away? It's ridiculous isn't it?

About The Author

Lorraine specialises in working with businesspeople showing them how to dramatically boost their productivity, reduce the stress and the mess in their lives and have more time for enjoying their life. www.office-organiser.com.au, lorraine@office-organiser.com.au


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Customer Service - Google News

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By Deborah Gage People who are forced to engage in online chats with virtual customer service agents–or who are passed from agent to agent without getting their problems solved–are likely to get highly frustrated and take their business elsewhere.
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Alcatel-Lucent banks on customer service - Communications, Engineering & Design Magazine


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The French company is using software acquired through its 2008 purchase of customer service specialist Motive to boost the capabilities of some of its existing products, Greg Owens, director of customer experience solutions marketing, ...
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Capital One Recognized by J.D. Power and Associates for Outstanding Customer ... - MarketWatch (press release)


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Microsoft and 24/7 Inc. team up to build a better automated customer service ... - BetaNews


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Microsoft and 24/7 Inc. have joined up to develop a next-gen automated customer service platform that pairs big data analytics with touch, speech, and gesture interfaces for a more mobile-friendly self-service customer experience.
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Interbit Data Expands Sales and Customer Support Teams for Its Healthcare ... - MarketWatch (press release)


Interbit Data Expands Sales and Customer Support Teams for Its Healthcare ...
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Playworld Systems Launches PlayPod(TM), a 24/7 Mobile Customer Support Tool - MarketWatch (press release)


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Office Depot Named as Finalist in Stevie(R) Awards for Sales & Customer Service - MarketWatch (press release)


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The international competition recognizes excellence in disciplines that are crucial to business success, and honors the accomplishments of sales, customer service, and call/contact center professionals worldwide. -- Sales Support Team of the Year: An ...
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